Frontier Complex: Geopolitics and the Making of the India-China Border, 1846-1962

Kyle J. Gardner's book "The Frontier Complex" explores how Ladakh became a modern, disputed borderland through an examination of rare archival sources. It reveals how colonial border-making practices transformed geography into a political science and established principles that would apply throughout the empire. Despite a century of attempts, the British failed to craft a suitable border, leaving an imperial legacy still playing out across the Himalayas.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 300 pages
\n Publication date: 21 January 2021
\n Publisher: Cambridge University Press
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Kyle J. Gardner delves into the historical transformation of Ladakh, a region in the Himalayas, from a traditional Himalayan entrepôt to a modern, disputed borderland. Through a comprehensive examination of rare archival sources from Britain, India, Ladakh, and Kashmir, he offers a rich history of the rise of geopolitics and the first comprehensive account of Ladakh's encounter with the British Empire. Gardner explores how colonial border-making practices reshaped the physical landscape into a political science and established principles that would be applied across the empire by a network of imperial frontier experts. By analyzing the intricate interplay of imperial policies and practices, The Frontier Complex sheds light on how the colonial state underwent a profound transformation and how it, in turn, influenced new ways of conceiving of territory. Despite a century of efforts to establish a suitable border, the British ultimately failed, leaving behind an imperial legacy that continues to resonate across the Himalayas.

Kyle J. Gardner delves into the historical transformation of Ladakh, a region in the Himalayas, from a traditional Himalayan entrepôt to a modern, disputed borderland. Through a comprehensive examination of rare archival sources from Britain, India, Ladakh, and Kashmir, he offers a rich history of the rise of geopolitics and the first comprehensive account of Ladakh's encounter with the British Empire. Gardner explores how colonial border-making practices reshaped the physical landscape into a political science and established principles that would be applied across the empire by a network of imperial frontier experts. By analyzing the intricate interplay of imperial policies and practices, The Frontier Complex sheds light on how the colonial state underwent a profound transformation and how it, in turn, influenced new ways of conceiving of territory. Despite a century of efforts to establish a suitable border, the British ultimately failed, leaving behind an imperial legacy that continues to resonate across the Himalayas.

\n Weight: 578g\n
Dimension: 159 x 235 x 25 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781108840590\n \n